An outside view from the interior of a motor vehicle is at least partially obscured by various structures and components of the vehicle itself. For example, an A-pillar, a car door, a dashboard, or another part (or combination of parts) of the interior of a vehicle may block a portion of the view out of the windshield and/or other car windows. Such obscuration may be reduced by the projection of a live image on the interior parts that are blocking the outside view. However, a projected image can only be easily aligned to either foreground or background objects at one time. For example, foreground objects can be aligned to the projected image, but background objects may be misaligned or improperly scaled/distorted. This misalignment or distortion causes distraction to the viewer. Additionally, it would be beneficial to mask or remove the background of the image as the displayed resolution is too low and becomes distracting to the viewer. The background portion of the image is unnecessary to assist in reducing “blind spots” (e.g., an obscured outside view).
Accordingly, it is desirable to calculate the distance of objects located around a vehicle. As the vehicle is moving through a stationary environment the surrounding objects have a unique “relative” motion (e.g., relative to each other and the vehicle). The difference in relative motion corresponds directly to the vehicle speed and the distance from the camera lens to the object being viewed. Calculating the distance of objects in this manner is valuable for active safety systems like pedestrian detection, collision mitigation, or detection of hazards around the vehicle. One exemplary application may include the ability to add depth to a night vision image by highlighting objects such as an animal that is located near the vehicle, and masking the background portion of the image to better highlight the location and distance to the animal.
Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.